Beyond Good and Evil

I’ve watched enough horror movies to become familiar with one theme: Satan is the bad guy who shows up and wrecks. yo. shit.

Fiction has transformed the devil from the tempter of Adam and Eve, into the embodiment of pure evil.

But 40 years of literary research paints a different story:

A strict reading of the Bible shows Satan to be less like Darth Vader… and more like an overzealous prosecutor.”

Satan’s basic intention is to uncover wrongdoing and treachery, however overzealous and unscrupulous the means. But he’s still part of God’s administration. (Source: Henry Kelly, UCLA English professor)

In the past, I’ve written about the human tendency to think in binary modes.

It’s ridiculously easy to paint someone as good or evil. Smart or dumb. Asshole or nice guy.